'Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir' official for Nov. 3 in Oklahoma City; tickets on sale next week

http://mmajunkie.comStrikeforce’s November visit to Oklahoma now is official, and tickets for the event go on sale next week.

As first reported by USA TODAY and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), heavyweight Daniel Cormier (10-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) puts his unbeaten record on the line against former UFC champion Frank Mir (16-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) in the main event. And middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 9-0 SF) will defend his belt against Lorenz Larkin (13-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) in the co-main event.

Strikeforce’s only prior visit to Oklahoma was in 2009 for a Challengers Series show in Bixby. This card in Oklahoma City takes place just 45 minutes from Cormier’s collegiate home at Oklahoma State in Stillwater, where he was an All-American wrestler.

Tickets for “Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir” go on sale to the general public on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. ET and are available at the arena box office and Ticketmaster locations. Ticket prices will be announced in the coming days. As usual, members of the UFC Fight Club can purchase tickets two days early, starting next Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET. And subscribers to the UFC’s e-newsletter and Strikeforce Insider subscribers can purchase tickets next Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.

“As a former Oklahoma State wrestler and two-time Olympian, Cormier has used his wrestling background to immediately put himself among the sport’s elite,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated. “On Nov. 3, he faces his toughest opponent to date in former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir, who has beaten legend after legend on his own path to the title. We’ve had a lot of big heavyweight bouts in the history of Strikeforce, but I can tell you, without a doubt, that this is the one that you don’t want to miss.”

Cormier this past May dominated Josh Barnett to win the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix tournament. After the fight, Cormier is expected to move to the UFC. This past fall, Strikeforce announced it would dissolve its heavyweight division after the tournament’s conclusion, with the winner getting one last fight.

That fight for Cormier comes against Mir, who moves to Strikeforce for just this one fight. Before his win over Barnett, Cormier had a notable knockout win over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the semifinals of the Strikeforce grand prix, which he entered as an alternate when Alistair Overeem was removed with an injury and subsequently signed with the UFC.

Mir in May lost a heavyweight title fight to Junior Dos Santos, a fight he lost by second-round TKO. Prior to that, Mir had a three-fight win streak with a knockout of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, a decision win over Roy Nelson and a “Submission of the Night” win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in which he broke the Brazilian legend’s arm.

Rockhold has defended his title twice since winning it against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza nearly a year ago. In January, he stopped Keith Jardine in the first round. And in July, he made relatively easy work of Tim Kennedy, winning by unanimous 49-46 scores in Portland, Ore.

Larkin lost by second-round knockout to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in January. But when Lawal tested positive for a banned steroid after the fight, the result was flipped to a no contest. That bout was at light heavyweight, and Larkin elected to move to middleweight after that fight. In July, Larkin made his middleweight debut and dominated Robbie Lawler for a unanimous decision.

Strikeforce expects to announce more fights for the card in the coming weeks.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is probably the greatest female fighter on the planet, which is a tremendous feat. So why are we seemingly so obsessed with arguing about whether she could beat up men?